House puts Spotify on mute

Spotify apparently hit a wrong note with the House's Internet overlords, who recently blocked the chamber's Web users from listening to the famed music-streaming service.

While Spotify isn't a peer-to-peer program along the lines of Napster, its inner workings appear subject to the longstanding ban on so-called P2P technology — a blockade lawmakers erected to thwart illegal file-sharing and prevent downloads from infecting computers with malware.

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"To help protect House data, our IT policy generally prohibits the use of peer-to-peer (P2P) technologies while operating within the secure network," a spokesman for the Office of the Chief Administrative Officer told POLITICO this week. "While Spotify is currently not authorized, the CAO has and will continue to work with outside vendors to enable the popular services that improve member communication capabilities."

For its part, Spotify isn't pleased. "It is a sad day when a few bureaucrats can block our nation's leadership from enjoying free, secure access to over 20 million songs," a spokesman told POLITICO. "Music is a common language that all political parties speak and should be used to bring the legislators of this great country together so they can solve the serious issues facing our nation."

While pointing out that both President Barack Obama and GOP nominee Mitt Romney used the service to connect with voters during the presidential campaign, the company added: "We truly hope the House of Representatives will see the error of their ways and stop blocking Spotify so that all of America can benefit from their collective joy of music."

The Senate, meanwhile, does not appear to have a similar ban on Spotify — or at least users on the opposite side of the Capitol reported to POLITICO that they had no trouble Thursday rocking out to their favorite playlists. A spokeswoman for the Senate Rules Committee, which provides support for the chamber and its office buildings, did not immediately return comment.

It's not the first time the Hill has erected walls to popular technologies to the chagrin of members and staffers.

Only in 2011 did House offices gain the ability to use video-chatting tools Skype and ooVoo. Chamber Republicans spent more than a year to reverse the ban, arguing it would better help members connect with constituents back home — and without significant expense. To overcome the Hill's strict peer-to-peer rules, Skype said at the time that it had to work with congressional network managers to address security concerns.

A representative from the CAO did not comment to POLITICO on whether the office is in talks with Spotify.

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 1:52 p.m. on January 31, 2013.